The Way to a Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach
by LegacyTales
Summary: When Mia's cooking is infused with a love potion by a Nighlok monster, the rangers' romantic feelings get flip-flopped. Can Emily save the day before hearts get hurt? And Kevin falls in love with... well, you'll see! Emily/Mike, Mia/Jayden
1. Mia Is Cooking Again (Gasp!)

_I loved the comedy Mia's cooking caused during the "Power Rangers Samurai" series, almost as much as I loved the pairing of Mike/Emily and the hints of a Jayden/Mia pairing. So here are all these things combined into one story… with an especially hilarious surprise for Kevin!_

It was the rangers' worst nightmare: Mia was cooking breakfast again.

As Mia hummed happily in the kitchen, seemingly unaware of the awful stench coming from her pots and pans, her fellow rangers hid just outside the room trying to preview the horror their stomachs might be in for. Jayden, Kevin, Mike, and Emily each held the door one with one hand… and their noses with the other.

"Is she putting chocolate cake in a pot with seaweed?" gasped Jayden quietly, so Mia wouldn't hear.

"Those two things don't even go together, let alone are breakfast foods," moaned Kevin softly.

"This can't be how it ends for me!" exclaimed Mike. "There's still so much I want to do in life."

Like maybe tell me how you feel, wondered Emily. She had long wondered if sweet, enthusiastic Mike had a crush on her, as she did on him. Yet after months of growing closer while fighting the Nighlok together, Mike still hadn't ever expressed any sentiments to her other than friendship. Lately, doubt had been growing that maybe her hunch about his feelings for her had all been in her head.

"What are you all doing out here by the door?" asked Mia, who had come over when she realized them peeping. "Excited for breakfast? I'm making omlettes with sausage and fruit salad."

"How does chocolate cake and seaweed possibly fit into that menu?!" whispered Mike to Emily, as they chuckled together and smiled.

"Anyone want a taste now?" asked Mia, apparently not having heard Mike and proceeding to hold up a giant ladle.

"NO!" shouted Jayden, Kevin, Mike, and Emily in unison.

"I have to go train for swimming," added Kevin as he hurried away.

"Mike, I need your help… fixing my sewing machine!" exclaimed Emily, grabbing Mike's hand.

"You don't own a sewing machine…" started Mike.

"Just go with it!" hissed Emily as they hustled away.

"Guess that just leaves us, Jayden," said Mia happily, as she held up the spoon, seemingly oblivious to the Red Samurai Ranger's obvious horror.

The only thing that made Mia happier than cooking was alone time with Jayden. Since the day she met Jayden, she had been attracted to his good leadership, good nature, and good looks. Once to catch a Nighlok monster, they had participated in fake weddings. Mia hoped to have a real one with him one day. That is, if she ever had the guts to tell him how she really felt.

"You know, Mia, that roundhouse kick you did in battle the other day was really impressive," said Jayden, breaking Mia out of her thoughts. "Why don't you go show it to me again? Right now!"

"Right now?" repeated Mia as Jayden gently took the ladle of goopy liquid that smelled like the Nighlok sewers out of the Pink Samurai Ranger's hand and walked it to the sink.

"Definitely right now," affirmed Jayden, taking Mia's hand and leading her to the courtyard where they trained.

"Well, I guess the ingredients could use some more time to settle," agreed Mia, blushing at the touch of Jayden's hand. "Let's go!"

With all the rangers out of the kitchen, none one noticed as a Nighlok slipped into the room and poured a vile of pink liquid to the pot of ingredients. Tiny pink hearts popped out of the pot in turn.

"Just one bite of these ingredients, and the ranger will fall in love with the next person he or she sees," said the Nighlok, adding an evil chuckle. "They will be so head-over-heels in love, they will be too love drunk to battle our Nighlok army!" 

_Will the rangers figure out the Nighlok added a love potion to the breakfast, or will they eat the food and fall head-over-heels in love? And if so, with who? Or what? ;-) Stay tuned to find out what happens!_


	2. Love Potion Commotion

"Who wants breakfast?" asked a cheery Mia, as her fellow rangers looked in horror at the green omelette, yellow sausage and brown fruit salad they each had on their respective plate.

None of them noticed the Nighlok monster peaking in through the kitchen window, silently chuckling at the love potion he had managed to slip into the rangers' breakfast. Just one bite, and the love potion would cause the ranger to fall in love with the next person he or she saw. The Nighlok hoped this love potion would render the rangers useless against his master's army. With one more evil laugh, he disappeared into a crack in the walkway and back into his own dimension to await the chaos that would ensue.

"I'll try the first bite, Mia," said Jayden finally. "Anything for you and the team."

Jayden cut himself a bite of the breakfast. Yet unable to look at the discolored edibles, he stared out the window at the training courtyard as he put the food in his mouth. He swallowed the food and remained motionless after.

"He's not even gagging," whispered Emily to Kevin. "Maybe it actually tasted good?"

"That's impossible," Mike interjected quietly. "Jayden's body is probably in the process of dying."

"Wha-wait! Jayden, where are you going?" cried Mia, as Jayden stood up and walked to the courtyard. "You didn't finish your breakfast."

His fellow rangers watched as Jayden walked into the courtyard and proceeded to throw is arms around one of the stuffed samurai figurines on a pole, like a scarecrow, that they used for sparring and martial arts practice.

"Like I said, he's dying," repeated Mike quietly to Emily and Kevin. "He's probably hanging onto the samurai scarecrow to support his body's final moments."

"Stop being melodramatic," Kevin chided to Mike as Emily laughed.

"I heard that, Mike!" teased Mia. "So guess what, you get to try the breakfast next!"

"Mia, no NO!" hollered Mike, looking straight at Mia as she stuffed a big bite of food into his mouth. Mike swallowed and slowly began to look at Mia with a goofy gaze.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Mia.

"That you are the most talented, beautiful cook in the whole world!" crowed Mike, jumping up suddenly to hug Mia and knocking over his breakfast plate in the process.

"Mike, what are you doing?" asked Emily confused, not just because he liked Mia's normally awful cuisine, but because she thought he had a secret crush on her.

"Yeah bro, what are you doing?" asked Kevin, clearly more concerned about the state of Mike's taste buds than his heart.

"I'm going to the kitchen to eat 100 omelettes because I love Mia and her cooking so much!" yelled Mike enthusiastically. "I love you, Mia!"

"See, I can cook!" taunted Mia, so happy someone finally liked her food that she missed the hurt look on the face of best friend, Emily.

"Let me just get this over with," muttered Kevin, staring towards the living room as he shoved a bite of food in his mouth.

"Well?" asked Mia, as Kevin paused for a long while after swallowing.

"I think, I think… I think I need something from the other room," replied Kevin as he hurried away.

"At least he didn't say he hated it, and neither did Jayden come to think of it," said Mia, looking at the red ranger in the courtyard still hugging the samurai scarecrow as she put a bite of food in her mouth.

"Mia, when Mike said he loved you, you don't think he meant, 'love, loves' you, right?" asked Emily with great concern.

"All, I know is that I love Jayden… and I'm going to go tell him right now!" exclaimed Mia, as she rushed off towards the courtyard.

"Really, I mean, that's great," responded Emily, who had long known of her best friend's crush on Jayden. "But right now, after you've waited for so long? Don't you want to, at this point, put some more thought first into how you're going to tell him?"

"Jayden, I LOOOVVEEEEE YOU!" Emily could hear Mia wail as she rushed towards the courtyard.

So much for carefully thought-out romantic gestures, Emily chuckled to herself as she made her way to toward the living room. She wanted to ask Kevin about his reaction to Mike's declaration of love for Mia. Mike couldn't have been serious about having feelings for her best friend…. could he?

"Kevin, do you… do you have your right mind? What are you doing?" gasped Emily as she noticed Kevin pawing rapidly at one of the columns in the living room, like a kitty clawing at a scratching post. Sitting next to Kevin was a large, stuffed, gray-and-white tabby cat sitting next to him.

"I'm playing scratch the post with my best friend in the WHOLE WORLD!" crowed Kevin, before bending over to pick up the stuffed cat and give the toy a huge hug.

"MR. WHISKERS?!" asked Emily in disbelief. "Mia's stuffed cat that she always sleeps with?"

"Mr. Whiskers and I have a whole day of fun planned. We're going to take a cat nap, clean our fur, and then go catch fish in the pond with our bare teeth!" shouted Kevin happily.

Emily shook her head at Kevin as he proceeded to roll over on his back, thrash around and then lick the back of his hand like it was his paw. Unable to watch this odd site, she looked over to the courtyard where Mia was talking rapidly at Jayden, while he was still hugging the samurai scarecrow tightly. Emily shook her head, as Mia's overly animated attempts to express her feelings to Jayden did not appear to be garnering much of a response from the red ranger.

Startled by the sound of plate crashing on the floor in the kitchen, Emily turned to see Mike piling himself a third portion of Mia's breakfast, with two dirty, empty plates already on the floor. Suddenly, the thought of Mike declaring his love for Mia wasn't the only concern in Emily's mind.

"Mike suddenly loves Mia's cooking? Mia after all this time suddenly declares his love for Jayden, who keeps hugging our practice samurai scarecrow? And Kevin thinks he's a cat?!" said Emily, thinking out loud to herself. "All this odd behavior can't just be a coincidence. Something strange might be going on here…"

* * *

 _Will Emily figure out the Nighlok put a love position in the rangers' breakfast? And even if she can save the day, will the damage to her relationship with Mike and Mia's relationship with Jayden already be done? And will Kevin really catch fish with his bare teeth? And where are Master Ji and Antonio? Stay tuned to find out how it all plays out._


	3. I Want to Marry You!

"Jayden, I want you to know that I've always admired what a great leader you are, your bravery, and both your physical and inner strength," gushed Mia. "I've wanted to tell you this for awhile, but Jayden, I'm in love with you!"

OK, mused Emily to herself, that wasn't so bad given that Mia had just decided moments ago, out of the blue, to profess her long-hidden feelings for Jayden. Yet Emily's eyebrows furrowed as Jayden seemed to give no reaction to Mia's momentous declaration. Instead, Jayden remained fixated on the samurai scarecrow practice dummy as Mia stood be side him animatedly.

"And Jayden, we're going to have such a wonderful life together! We're going to live in a big house with a white picket fence, and have at least five kids," continued Mia enthusiastically, as Emily gasped. "And we'll teach them about the ways of the samurai, and I'll cook for us every night!"

"Stop, Mia, stop!" interjected Emily, not sure whether Jayden would be more freaked out by Mia talking about their kids… or about cooking for him every night.

"Why Em?" asked Mia obviously. "You're going to my maid-of-honor at our wedding! What do you think, Jayden"?

"Yes, Jayden, what do you think?" asked Emily, squinting her eyes shut, afraid the red ranger was about to crush the feelings of the pink one.

"I think… I think… you have really nice posture," said Jayden shyly.

"HUH?!" said Emily and Mia in union.

Nice posture, repeated Emily to herself. Not the first thing that would come to my mind if someone told me they loved me and wanted to have kids with me, Emily mused. But at this point, she was just relived that Jayden's hadn't flat out rejected Mia, given the pink ranger's forceful overtures. Then, Emily noticed that Jayden was now standing with his arm around the samurai scarecrow.

"Jayden, wha… wha.. are you doing?" asked Emily, half-horrified and half trying to hold back from laughing.

"You really have the nicest, straightest posture in the world," said Jayden lovingly to the samurai scarecrow. "And you're so focused and calm, just like a true samurai should be."

"Jayden, why are you complimenting the sparring practice dummy?!" questioned Emily in disbelief. "The samurai scarecrow is not alive."

"SHHH!" hissed Jayden at Emily, before turning adoringly back to the samurai scarecrow. "Ignore her, she's just jealous of your samurai skills."

"Mia?" queried Emily, looking to her best friend for help.

"Jayden's so nice to everyone and everything. It's just another one of the reasons I love him," sighed Mia, seemingly obviously that Jayden didn't share her feelings and instead shared them with a lifeless sparring practice dummy.

"What is going on here?!" Emily asked herself, for what felt like the 100th time that morning.

Emily heard a clatter from across the way and turned to see Mike enter the courtyard. Her pulse raced as her crush raced across the grass towards them. With a goofy grin on his face and enthusiastic gallop, his eagerness made Emily's heart melt.

"Oh Mike, thank goodness you're here. Mia is declaring her love for Jayden, and Jayden is declaring his love for… a samurai scarecrow," Emily finished, burying her face in the palm of her hand at her last statement.

"Mia, you are the most fantastic, talented, beautiful cook in the whole world," crowed Mike, ignoring Emily. "I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you."

"Mike, what are saying?" gasped Emily, tears of anger and disappointment filling her eyes.

"Go away, Emily!" responded Mike angrily. "I just want to be with Mia."

"Mike…" hiccupped Emily, as she gulped to hold back tears.

At that moment, a bell sounded in the courtyard, signaling a Nighlok monster was attaching the town. Normally, Jayden's head would have snapped to attention, and he would have begun gathering all the rangers to prepare to morph. Yet Emily was stunned as Jayden now hugged the samurai scarecrow, oblivious to the Nighlok warning bell. Mia – staring goofily at Jayden – and Mike – staring goofily at Mia – appeared to be just as unconcerned.

"Jayden, what are you waiting for?!" exclaimed Emily, putting aside her heartbreak over Mike's declaration of love for Mia to focus on the emergency at hand. "There's a Nighlok monster attacking innocent people! We have a responsibility as Power Rangers to protect everyone."

"Not now, I'm learning how to become a better samurai," replied Jayden carelessly, as he pressed his ear close to the samurai scarecrow. "What's that? Oh you're such a smart warrior!"

"Ohmygosh," muttered Emily.

"And I'm sharing with Jayden ideas for our wedding reception," continued Mia, unaware that Jayden had not been responding to her at all this entire time.

"And I'm planning my first date with Mia, so this is no time to battle," said Mike in annoyed tone to Emily, also unaware that Mia had not been paying attention to him.

This is a mess, thought Emily, spinning around in circle. Everyone was attacking out of sorts, there was a Nighlok monster attacking the city… and for goodness sake's, she wondered, where was Kevin? Feeling completely lost and overwhelmed, Emily threw her hands behind her head and finally let a few tears fall down her cheeks.

"Somebody help me, please," she whimpered.

"Did somebody say help?" Emily heard a familiar voice respond in a refreshingly normal tone.

"You came back! And boy, could I use your help figuring this all out!" exclaimed Emily in relief.

* * *

 _Stay tuned to find out who came back to help Emily!_


	4. Antonio's Big Idea

"Jayden, I want you to know that I've always admired what a great leader you are, your bravery, and both your physical and inner strength," gushed Mia. "I've wanted to tell you this for awhile, but Jayden, I'm in love with you!"

OK, mused Emily to herself, that wasn't so bad given that Mia had just decided moments ago, out of the blue, to profess her long-hidden feelings for Jayden. Yet Emily's eyebrows furrowed as Jayden seemed to give no reaction to Mia's momentous declaration. Instead, Jayden remained fixated on the samurai scarecrow practice dummy as Mia stood be side him animatedly.

"And Jayden, we're going to have such a wonderful life together! We're going to live in a big house with a white picket fence, and have at least five kids," continued Mia enthusiastically, as Emily gasped. "And we'll teach them about the ways of the samurai, and I'll cook for us every night!"

"Stop, Mia, stop!" interjected Emily, not sure whether Jayden would be more freaked out by Mia talking about their kids… or about cooking for him every night.

"Why Em?" asked Mia obviously. "You're going to my maid-of-honor at our wedding! What do you think, Jayden"?

"Yes, Jayden, what do you think?" asked Emily, squinting her eyes shut, afraid the red ranger was about to crush the feelings of the pink one.

"I think… I think… you have really nice posture," said Jayden shyly.

"HUH?!" said Emily and Mia in union.

Nice posture, repeated Emily to herself. Not the first thing that would come to my mind if someone told me they loved me and wanted to have kids with me, Emily mused. But at this point, she was just relived that Jayden's hadn't flat out rejected Mia, given the pink ranger's forceful overtures. Then, Emily noticed that Jayden was now standing with his arm around the samurai scarecrow.

"Jayden, wha… wha.. are you doing?" asked Emily, half-horrified and half trying to hold back from laughing.

"You really have the nicest, straightest posture in the world," said Jayden lovingly to the samurai scarecrow. "And you're so focused and calm, just like a true samurai should be."

"Jayden, why are you complimenting the sparring practice dummy?!" questioned Emily in disbelief. "The samurai scarecrow is not alive."

"SHHH!" hissed Jayden at Emily, before turning adoringly back to the samurai scarecrow. "Ignore her, she's just jealous of your samurai skills."

"Mia?" queried Emily, looking to her best friend for help.

"Jayden's so nice to everyone and everything. It's just another one of the reasons I love him," sighed Mia, seemingly obviously that Jayden didn't share her feelings and instead shared them with a lifeless sparring practice dummy.

"What is going on here?!" Emily asked herself, for what felt like the 100th time that morning.

Emily heard a clatter from across the way and turned to see Mike enter the courtyard. Her pulse raced as her crush raced across the grass towards them. With a goofy grin on his face and enthusiastic gallop, his eagerness made Emily's heart melt.

"Oh Mike, thank goodness you're here. Mia is declaring her love for Jayden, and Jayden is declaring his love for… a samurai scarecrow," Emily finished, burying her face in the palm of her hand at her last statement.

"Mia, you are the most fantastic, talented, beautiful cook in the whole world," crowed Mike, ignoring Emily. "I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you."

"Mike, what are saying?" gasped Emily, tears of anger and disappointment filling her eyes.

"Go away, Emily!" responded Mike angrily. "I just want to be with Mia."

"Mike…" hiccupped Emily, as she gulped to hold back tears.

At that moment, a bell sounded in the courtyard, signaling a Nighlok monster was attaching the town. Normally, Jayden's head would have snapped to attention, and he would have begun gathering all the rangers to prepare to morph. Yet Emily was stunned as Jayden now hugged the samurai scarecrow, oblivious to the Nighlok warning bell. Mia – staring goofily at Jayden – and Mike – staring goofily at Mia – appeared to be just as unconcerned.

"Jayden, what are you waiting for?!" exclaimed Emily, putting aside her heartbreak over Mike's declaration of love for Mia to focus on the emergency at hand. "There's a Nighlok monster attacking innocent people! We have a responsibility as Power Rangers to protect everyone."

"Not now, I'm learning how to become a better samurai," replied Jayden carelessly, as he pressed his ear close to the samurai scarecrow. "What's that? Oh you're such a smart warrior!"

"Ohmygosh," muttered Emily.

"And I'm sharing with Jayden ideas for our wedding reception," continued Mia, unaware that Jayden had not been responding to her at all this entire time.

"And I'm planning my first date with Mia, so this is no time to battle," said Mike in annoyed tone to Emily, also unaware that Mia had not been paying attention to him.

This is a mess, thought Emily, spinning around in circle. Everyone was attacking out of sorts, there was a Nighlok monster attacking the city… and for goodness sake's, she wondered, where was Kevin? Feeling completely lost and overwhelmed, Emily threw her hands behind her head and finally let a few tears fall down her cheeks.

"Somebody help me, please," she whimpered.

"Did somebody say help?" Emily heard a familiar voice respond in a refreshingly normal tone.

"You came back! And boy, could I use your help figuring this all out!" exclaimed Emily in relief.

* * *

 _Stay tuned to find out who came back to help Emily!_


End file.
